


Piece by Piece

by Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97



Category: Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Family Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-05 02:59:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17910719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97/pseuds/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97
Summary: "Piece by piece, he restored my faith that a man can be kind, and a father should be great."A story about Dick Grayson and Rachel Roth and their road to becoming a family.A songfic based on and isnpired by the song "Piece by Piece" by Kelly Clarkson.





	Piece by Piece

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with another story about my beautiful babies. I can't believe my first story about them is doing so well and I wanted to thank everyone, who had read and reviewed "I will always need you", it means a lot to me. If you haven't read it yet, do not hesitate to check it out *shamelessly promotes herself* 😊 Anyway, I love this song, and I always do this thing, where I look for songs that fit perfectly with my favorite characters/pairings/dynamics and 'Piece by Piece' fits Dick and Rachel perfectly. I actually started to cry when I listened to this song and started thinking about them. I hope you'll enjoy, both this fic and the song.

_And all I remember is your back_

_Walking towards the airport, leaving us all in your past_

_I traveled fifteen hundred miles to see you_

_I begged you to want me, but you didn’t want to_

 

Melisa wasn't always a single mother. Rachel remembered a guy named Fred. He played with her, tought her how to ride a bike, picked her up from preschool sometimes. He was nice, at least when he wasn't drunk. Rachel was little, she didn't know what 'drunk' meant back then. But she had learned pretty quickly. She was 4. It was the first time she consciously called him her 'dad'. Her mom never thought her that word, she learned it's meaning from the other kids. Unfortunately, she picked the wrong moment. He threw a bottle at her. It shattered on the opposite wall.

He left when she was 6. Despite his drunk behaviour, part of her loved him and wanted him to stay. But he pushed her away and didn't spare her even one look.

 

_And all of your words fall flat_

_I made something of myself and now you wanna come back_

_But your love, it isn’t free, it has to be earned_

_Back then I didn’t have anything you needed so I was worthless_

 

She was just a tool in Trigon's hands. He made her and waited 13 fucking years, just so she could get more powerful. He promises her the universe, he calls her 'his greatest creation' and that makes Rachel sick. She wasn't his daughter, she didn't want to be. If it wasn't for her power, she would be useless to him. She didn't mean anything to him, not that she wanted to, anyway. She used to believe she was a monster, until she stared in the face of the real one. She wasn't a monster - she was a victim.

 

_But piece by piece, he collected me up_

_Off the ground, where you abandoned things_

_Piece by piece he filled the holes that you burned in me_

_Six years old and you know_

_He never walks away_

_He never asks for money_

_He takes care of me_

_'Cause he loves me_

_Piece by piece, he restored my faith_

_That a man can be kind and a father could, stay_

 

The day Dick Grayson enters her life, everything changes. Is it fate that brought them together? She's been dreaming about him, without really knowing it's him for years. Sometimes she wasn't sure if what she was dreaming about was actually real. But then he appears, almost magically, in the lowest moment of her life. Like a guardian angel, who has been waiting in the shadows for the right moment to reveal himself. She asks him, begs him for help, and he agrees, no questions asked, without hesitation. He makes sure she's safe, and that she eats, and that she has somewhere to sleep. He lets her cry in his arms when she feels like she's falling apart. He protects her, cares about her. He's doing all of that and more, without asking for anything in return.

She doesn't know him for long, even though it feels like she had known him her whole life. But she's sure about one thing.

She loves him.

She loves him like a child loves a parent.

Like a daughter should love her father.

But does he love her like that too?

 _Yes_ , she thinks sometimes. When he opens his arms and hugs her when she needs it. When he makes her breakfast. When he says how proud he is when she manages to do something right on their training sessions. When his protective instincts are working in overdrive, even when she is not really in danger (or she thinks she isn't).

Yet other times she tells herself _no, he doesn't_. Because he's leaving her. Again. He had promised her, over and over again, that he won't leave, and yet he does it. And it hurts. It hurts a lot. And she's angry.

But the thing is - he always comes back. Every time. And he's sorry. He says he made a mistake. Again.

And she forgives him. She does it, even though she has a feeling he's still going to make that mistake again. But she forgives him. Because she loves him.

And _yes, maybe he does love her too_. He wouldn't come back, if he didn't, would he?

Rachel doesn't know extactly _when_ she started seeing Dick as a father figure. But it did happen somewhere along the way.

 

_Piece by piece I fell far from the tree_

_I will never leave her like you left me_

_And she will never have to wonder her worth_

_Because unlike you I’m going to put her first_

 

The day Rachel Roth enters his life, everything changes. Slowly, bit by bit he's being brought back to life. He has a purpose again. But the shadow of self doubt still looms over him. A shadow in a shape of the Bat Signal. He doesn't really know what to do, but he knows he needs to protect this girl. He decides to leave her with Hank and Dawn, _just for a while_ , he tells himself, _until I'll find the safest way for her to get out of this mess_. But the plan backfires. And when he sees how hurt and unstable she is because of that, because of _him_ , he makes a conscious decision, one he's never been more sure of, that he will _never_ leave this child alone. And when he holds her close to his chest, in a basement of that weird house, after she almost lost control, he tells her she's not on her own, she has him now and he's not going anywhere, and he means it this time.

Because, somewhere along the way, she became the most important person in his life, and he doesn't know why, or how, but it happened. And he wouldn't change it for the world.

So he tries. He tries to be resposible. He takes care of her, makes sure she eats, and that she has somewhere to sleep, and he doesn't expect, doesn't _want_ any reward, but still, any time she smiles at him, he feels like flying. He tries not to make mistakes. But he does. He leaves. He doesn't want to, not really, and he always makes excuses. He has his reasons to leave. But when he sees the hurt and disappointment in Rachel's eyes, he's ashamed of himself. Because he feels like he's running away. And maybe he does. Because Dawn was right, taking care of a kid _is_ a big responsibility and it scares the shit out of him. But he comes back - he promised he will, didn't he?

And Rachel forgives him, every time. He really doesn't deserve her. Not after what he had become, not after the things he did. And Dick thinks, _is it what it's like to be a parent?_ To screw up, and makes mistakes, and still be worthy of the child's love and forgiveness? Because how can he be worthy? He's not good at family. He is not the right person for the job. And yet, Rachel longs to him, in that way a child would long to their parent. And he really doesn't deserve all of this.

He doesn't know her for long. But he knows one thing.

He loves her.

He loves her like a parent loves a child.

Like a father should love his daughter.

And somewhere along the way he realizes, that she loves him too. It's in the way she looks at him, like he's her damn hero. It's in the way she bickers with him when he's acting overprotectively. It's in the way she sobs his name and buries herself in his chest when her nightmares are too much to handle.

It takes him few months (and few long conversations with both Dawn and Donna), but one afternoon he finds himself sitting in his car, holding a bunch of papers. Alfred took care of everything, all Dick needs to do is sign. Rachel has no idea - it's a gift for her 14th birthday. As he's going through the papers, he feels like he's going to cry. She will have his name, Rachel _Grayson_ , and he'll have full custody and parental rights. They will still have to wait a little until the case is finalized and it _really_ becomes official, but it's worth the wait. This way he gives her a sealing oath that he’ll never walk away, he’ll never break her heart, he’ll take care of things and he’ll love her, and that he will always, _always_ come back to her, no matter what. He runs his hand across his face, wipes away the tears and reaches for a pen. The moment he puts his signature on paper, he feels like the happiest man on Earth.

He's never been so nervous in his life as he is when he gives Rachel the envelope. Everyone are present, but only Donna and Dawn know what's coming. He can see the excitement in their faces. Rachel frowns as she goes through the papers, confusion all over her features. But when she finally realizes what she's holding, she looks up at him, smiling, and her eyes are gleaming with tears, and the next second she throws herself at him and she cries, but also laughs, and it's the most beautiful sound ever. She leans away for a moment, her eyes big and shiny.

"You're adopting me?"

His eyes sting with tears and his throat tightenes, when he replies, "Yes, I am. We still have to wait a little, but it's already in the motion."

She stares at him for a while, her mouth wide open, because she cannot believe it's really happening. But then she jumps into his arms again, and he hears her soft whisper is his ear.

"Thank you, this is the best gift ever. I love you... Dad."

And Dick breaks down. He squeezes her tighter and can't stop tears from coming out of his eyes. She just called him a _dad_.

And he had no idea it's gonna feel that good.

He kisses her temple and whisperes back, "I love you, too, Baby Girl."

 

_Piece by piece, he restored my faith_

_That a man can be kind and the father should be great_

 

 


End file.
